The Demented
by TheCrystalRing
Summary: When a mermaid's dream threatens to destroy not only humanity, but her own mind, she must try to end the nightmare her life had become. WARNING! This story is a crossover story containing non-canon pairings (including other films besides Disney). It also has mature themes, including murder and suicide; I'll change the rating if it gets too intense.
1. Prologue

_Life, like all good things, has two sides. One side is the bright, joyful life that most yearn for, while the other is dark, and cruel. For one to be truly happy, they must learn to live between these two sides, to live a life of equal balance. Those who succeed at this are called the Divine. Most people complete this mission, and their lives are as close to perfect as a mortal can get. But some people…give themselves up to only one side, and thus lead a life of either illusion or suffering._

_ Those who devote themselves to the happy parts of life are called the Deluded. They only see the good in humanity and believe that the world is as perfect as the Gods' lives themselves. The Deluded never truly attempt to change the major problems of the world they live in, trusting others to remain pure and observing the crimes of mortal kind with the innocent eyes of a child. _

_The Deluded all contain at least one of the Elements of Harmony; Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Laughter, Magic, and Love. With these Elements, the Deluded have the power to save mortals from their sins, but they themselves are too blind to realize how much their assistance is direly needed._

_ The ones who only identify with the darkness of life are the Demented. They can only see the soul sucking blackness of life at its worst. Everything is viewed as morally wrong, and they strive to spread the gloom of the anger and sadness within their own hearts. _

_The Demented suffer from one of the Seven Deadly Sins of Hell; Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. With these sins, the Demented yearn to spread their dark views around the world, usually for their own personal gain. And…they have done a good job at it…_

_Today, I'll tell you the tale of the time when the world was a dangerous and deadly place; when both sides were almost destroyed completely. How did this disaster nearly occur? How was it prevented? Well…it all began with a dream; a dream that soon led to a mistake, which in turn spiraled into a nightmare. _

_Yes…it happened about a century ago…a tale lost from the memory of most…a tale only an immortal such as myself could remember…_

_It is the story of a young girl…a girl who wanted to be part of another world; the world full of pain and suffering, no less. It was also about an entire city; a sprawling town full of the Divine, the Deluded, and the Demented. And with one girl's desire…the lives the townspeople of this city led were turned upside down, and were never righted again…_

_This is a story of love, of death, of sacrifice. A story not for the faint of heart, to say the least. But…I sense another tragedy like this one on the horizon and the world must remember what happened before it is too late...t__he world must remember the mermaid who had risked everything for a dream she dreamed._

___Merfolk are **not** meant to make contact with humanity; contact between the two would only end in disaster. But did that stop anyone from defying the rule? No, of course not; once a human spots a Mer, they become obsessed, only seeking to find the creature once more. Likewise, if a Mer falls in love with a human, they too will be obsessed, longing to join the world of the legged. _

___ The latter was the cause of the tragedy that befell the mermaid of old. There is actually a story – a famous one in fact - written about this girl…one that changed the catalyst of her fate. Perhaps you heard of it? The story was called **The Little Mermaid**, a story of which the girl simply dies at the end, when she couldn't be with her love.___

___ But, this tale, as sad as it is, is not the truth. The mermaid's suffering extended far beyond that of the tale, and many do not know this, unfortunately. But that is why I, the great immortal Yen Sid, must share this tale. The tale of the mermaid known as Ariel…and the tale of all the lives she changed. Forever._


	2. Chapter 1 - Deadly Deals

Ariel's life was currently in Hell. She thought she knew the consequences of her agreement with the witch; she thought that if anything went wrong, only she would be hurt…she was wrong. Dead wrong.

Everything was going perfectly; she was human (at the cost of her voice, however), she was with her prince, and they were only one kiss away from being together forever. But then She had shown up and stolen the heart of the prince, Eric, away from her. Ariel's animal friends had tried to delay Her wedding to the prince, and tried to recover the Mer's voice, but in the end, their efforts were futile on both tasks…the sun had set on her three day time limit, and Ariel, still voiceless, felt her two beautiful legs rejoin together into her former green tail.

"YOU'RE TOO LATE! YOU'RE TOO LATE!" She screamed, saliva flying from her lips as she busted out of her skin, revealing to everyone on board the wedding ship to who she really was; Ursula the Sea Witch, the one who had taken Ariel's voice and gave the mermaid legs in the first place.

Ariel's eyes widened as the witch dragged herself across the deck to the young Mer, and she tried to crawl away. But Ariel felt a strong grasp tighten around her arm, sinking sharp nails deep into her skin. Ursula wasn't making her escape easy.

"So long, loverboy!" The Cecaelia growled over her shoulder, before plunging into the ocean below, with the red-headed girl in tow.  
Ariel thought she heard Eric call out her name, but she couldn't think straight over the thoughts rushing through her mind, trying to say things that her voice could only wish to speak. _What will happen to Eric? What about Daddy? What about_ me?  
The mermaid was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice the two other figures who had entered the scene; a small red crab and a Mer whose very presence commanded attention. The latter was currently engaged in a heated argument with the witch who held her captive.

"Let her go," the merman demanded, the little crustacean nodding in agreement over his shoulder.

_Daddy…_Ariel realized, and she gasped. She knew exactly Ursula was planning now…she just prayed it wasn't true.

"Not a chance, Triton!" the Sea Witch spat, "She's _mine_ now. We made a deal."

Ursula waved her other arm, and the cursed scroll that Ariel had signed materialized out of thin water and into one of her tentacles. The witch unfurled it in front of her father with flourish. As the king's and the crab's eyes quickly scanned over the paper, Triton's expression slowly becoming more and more horrified as he continued to the fine print Ariel hadn't bothered to read. Sebastian looked as if he was going to faint.

'Daddy, I'm sorry!' Ariel tried to squeak out, struggling against the Witch's minions, who held her in place for their master, 'I - I - I didn't mean to! I didn't _know-'_  
Extending the Trident in front of him, Triton shot a bolt of pure white magic at the scroll, causing a bright flash to fill the waters around them and sending Ursula rocketing backwards. When it faded the scroll was still as intact as it was before.

"You see?" The Cecaelia cackled, "The contract's legal, binding, and completely unbreakable - even for YOU!"

Ursula smirked, and she tapped her chin, "Of course…I always was a girl with an eye for a bargain…"

The witch twirled the scroll through the water, transfiguring it into a golden, celestial ribbon, and sent it circling around the Mer princess, "The daughter of the great sea king is a very precious commodity. But…!"

"…I might be willing to make an exchange…" She snapped, and the yellow trail spiraled around Ariel until it was almost a tornado threatening to tear her apart, "…For someone even _better…"_

Ursula slowly clenched her fist, and the mermaid felt herself shrinking painfully. Ariel let out a silent scream of agony as she felt her insides collapse upon another, 'Daddy, help me, please!'

The Sea King's eyes widened in fear as he watched his youngest daughter become one of Ursula's creatures that could be killed with one squeeze. Finally, he burst, "DAMN YOU, URSULA!"

Ursula snickered as she watched the Trident turn red in the king's hand, "My, Triton, how very inappropriate of you to say! I expect better from a royal, especially one who has a child that looks up to them!"

By now, Ariel felt like she was going to explode. The pain of having her frame being crammed into a body at least a hundred times smaller than her was close to unbearable. _I guess this is your punishment, though, for messing around with magic…She told her defeated mind._

"NoW…dO…hAvE…dEaL?" Ariel heard Ursula's voice, mocking and cold, but it was distorted, as if she was hearing it from the end of a long, echoing tunnel.  
But, she could distinctly hear the sickening zap that followed the witch's drawl and the maniacal laughter that followed, "Ha! It's done then!"  
The horrible pain coursing through Ariel's veins stopped, and she released the breath she didn't even known she was holding as she regrew to normal size. The Mer opened her eyes. She immediately wished she didn't. The soul-crushing magic that surrounded her only moments before had rapidly shrank her own father into a polyp.

And before she could react, Ursula's tentacles quickly wrapped around her weakened father…and squeezed the life out of her only parent before Ariel's very eyes. The Cecaelia dropped the corpse of the king, and Ariel cautiously swam forwards.

_He can't be gone…he just can't!_ The mermaid's mind rushed to process the scene before her.

'Daddy…?'

"Oh, sire…" Sebastian moaned, "Oh, your _highness…_"

"Shut up, crab!" Ursula practically screamed, turning around to face the crustacean, "I have no issue with you!"

Ursula snatched Sebastian into her grip and threw him against a nearby rock, and a sickening crack flooded Ariel's ears.

Laughing, the witch swooped down and grabbed the Trident with a grin. Then she turned to Ariel, "Now…I can't have you interfering with my new plans as the ruler of the sea…but the contract says I can't kill you, in exchange for your father's life…"

The witch's smirk grew wider across her face, and any thought of mourning both Sebastian and Triton was completely wiped from Ariel's mind, "…But it never said anything about seriously injuring you…so much that you could die!"

Ursula leveled the Trident to Ariel's neck, the uppermost point just barely touching her skin, "Well, child…any last words before we part…?"

Ariel closed her eyes, and felt a single tear rolled down her cheek as she thought the most important thing she could think of...then she shook her head.

"Well, then…It's been nice doing business with you, you poor, _unfortunate_ soul…"

A horrible scent of something burning filled the water with a boom as Ursula fired, and Ariel felt herself falling to the seafloor. And the Mer heard her voice, once more, echoing through her head before falling unconscious, saying the same message as before.

_It's your entire fault…_

Ariel awoke to a splitting pain in her head and an aching body. She was on the seafloor, surrounded by various pieces of debris and dead aquatic plants. The ocean currents were still for once, as if some unknown force was preventing the sea to act normally. The Mer groaned as she attempted to sit up, but a giant bubble of pain exploded down her arms and tail, and she collapsed on the sand again.

'What hap-' Ariel began, before clutching at her throat. _Oh, yeah…my voice is gone…but then…where is Ursula? And Daddy and Sebastian, too?_

_Don't be stupid! Her mind yelled at her. Don't you remember?! They're…They're both…_

'…dead,' Ariel finished, tears welling in her eyes, 'T-T-They died…while trying to f-f-fix my m-m-mistake. I-I-It's all m-m-my f-f-fault…'

The princess broke down, and hot, salty tears floated from her eyes, quickly dissolving into the ocean around her, 'I s-s-should be the one w-w-who d-d-died, not t-t-them…'

Ariel brought her tail agonizingly up to her chest and began to sob into it, not caring about the world around her, or the gold pole glittering a few feet away…Wait a minute.

Jerking her head up painfully, the mermaid relocated the golden staff, which was lodged deep into the sand, with only the spikes protruding the surface, 'The Trident!'  
Ariel quickly tried to wipe away most of her tears, gave up after it proved to be futile, and then slowly swam towards the rod's location. She winced as more and more pain grew inside her body, but she still managed to reach a hand out to one of the points. As soon as her finger brushed it, Ariel felt the Trident grow hot under her fingers, and quickly snatched her hand back.

'What's wrong with thi-' Ariel started, before realizing what was happening.

A white-gold stream of pure light poured out of the tip of the Trident, and began to swirl in a cyclone above the points of the staff. Finally, the twirling stopped, and in its place was a projection of a figure, semi-transparent like a ghost.

Ariel felt her heart stop, and she blinked repeatedly, not believing her eyes.

But her eyes weren't lying; they never had.

Before her stood someone she never thought she'd ever see again. Someone who had long been dead. Someone she could only just barely remember. Someone…very familiar, but almost distant, like they were from another world.

It was her mother.


End file.
